RkChallenge  Feb2011
by RK.Challenge
Summary: A Writers Frenzy was on in our RK Challenge Community. Prompts were: Passion, fruit, denial. Bonus:First 3 entries, have Okina appear in the story.
1. February Winners

_RK_Challenge mod: Here are the winners for February. The entries will be posted for your enjoyment here, in FFnet, from our LiveJournal Community. The entries will be posted in order. _

_Congratulations winners!_

**First Place**

Passion leaves a trace by **missgoalie75**  
><strong><br>Joint Second Place**

Sweetened by **missgoalie75**  
><strong><br>**Correspondence by **missgoalie75**

Forget me not by **bassocontinuo4**

**Third Place**

It is in the blood by **jenineji**

**Fourth Place**  
><span>Something new <span>by **bassocontinuo4**


	2. FIRST PLACE

**FIRST PLACE**

* * *

><p><strong>Title: <strong>Passion Leaves A Trace  
><strong>Author:<strong> MissGoalie75  
><strong>Theme: <strong>Passion  
><strong>Rating: <strong>T  
><strong>Words: <strong>4,743 (I know, WTF, right?)  
><strong>Summary: <strong>"Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen for you, to you, and because of you." – T. Alan Armstrong  
><strong>AN: **The title is the same one for an LP by the band Black Lab. Also, this was really inspired James Franco's short story "April." This story is definitely probably a hot mess…

Kenshin stares at his probation officer, Saito, with a blank expression on his face, not bothering to glance at the list of places where he can do his community service hours.

"Let's see…which is a place that will make it very hard for you to set on fire and will be extremely difficult for you to fuck up…" Saito mutters under his breath, twirling a pen expertly between his fingers.

Kenshin rolls his eyes toward the ceiling and thinks about how he needs to get cigarettes – he has three left at the moment. He also has to cook dinner for his bitch of a mother and actually write his research paper for school if he doesn't want to fail English.

"Himura? Pay attention."

Kenshin lowers his gaze to glare at the old man across from him.

After twenty minutes of vehemently debating about working in a nursing home (Saito pushed for it while Kenshin fought against it with quite a bit more emotion that he usually lets on), Saito ultimately decides on the public library.

Kenshin walks home with his hands in his pockets, feeling emptier with each step closer to his house.

/

Three librarians, two of whom are identical twins, Tae and Sae, which make things really annoying, greet him. The third one is really old man named Oibore, who Kenshin's pretty sure will kick the bucket within the next few months. Despite his decrepit nature, he manages to catch Kenshin in the act of swiping a paperclip.

For forty minutes he's shown all the sections of the library and is directed on how he's supposed to put all the returned books back in their original places. He's not to disturb anyone.

"What if I finish early?" he quips.

"Then you come back to the desk and you'll sit there until we get more books," Tae or Sae (he really doesn't give a fuck who it is) retorts.

He grimaces at them and they continue the tour.

/

He finds his bike in the garage that he all but threw away once he got a car over a year ago.

He brings it to a repair shop to get it fixed – the walk to the library and back home takes too much time and he can't drive again until he's eighteen anyway.

/

His mom complains that the pasta he made has a crunch to it. He tries to explain that _it's the point of _al dente_ pasta – it's not supposed to be limp_. But she's too tipsy at this point in the evening.

He doesn't know why he even bothers anymore.

/

First day of work. He moves slowly, taking his time slipping books in the right sections.

After three hours, he goes to the front desk to get his hours signed off. Instead of the twins or that old geezer behind the desk, there's Kaoru Kamiya, that quiet, goody-goody girl who's always in at least one or two of his classes.

He taps his fingers on the wood to get her attention. She looks up and stares at him for a second before exclaiming, "Right! Your hours. About that…"

He raises an eyebrow at her.

"You barely put away half the books in your cart," she points out.

He shrugs. "Too many books, too little time."

She purses her lips. "It doesn't take more than three hours to put away all those books. Trust me – I've been working here for three years."

"I'm new. I'm unfamiliar with the territory."

She rolls her eyes. "You're lucky. The only one who saw you come in was Oibore and he's gone home early. I'm letting Tae know that you came in an hour ago, but you _unfortunately _have to leave now because you need to work on a paper for history that's due tomorrow."

He narrows his eyes at her. "I was here for _three hours_, therefore, I would like to be acknowledged for doing those three hours for my community service."

"See, here's the thing," she starts, shifting in her chair so she's sitting up straighter to gaze directly into his eyes, "You didn't actually do three hours worth of _service for the community_, which is the whole point of this. You're lucky I'm even counting an hour at all."

He was indifferent towards this girl five minutes ago and now he hates everything about her.

"See you Wednesday?" she says, smiling pleasantly. "And hurry home!" she adds after he walks away from her, "You need to work on that paper!"

He realizes as he's riding his bike home that he has to write a paper that's actually fucking _decent_if his probation officer is going to accept his only working an hour today.

Fuck. That. Bitch.

/

It takes him about two hours to write the paper, minutes a few minutes here or there to get something to eat.

He can't believe that girl whom he's never even talked to before played him.

As he's falling asleep, he doesn't know whether to be impressed with her, or to just go on hating her existence.

/

Before he walks into the classroom, it suddenly hits him that Kaoru is in his history class.

He drops his paper on the teacher's desk and ignores Kaoru's smile.

Yeah, he despises her.

/

"You must be very pleased with yourself," he drawls as he and Kaoru are shelving books in the same stack.

"Not going to lie, I do think of myself as rather clever at times. Although those moments are usually far and few between. I'm actually quite dense when it matters," she answers as she gets on her tiptoes to push a book in.

She's making it very hard for him to hate her because she's always been one of those few people he didn't have an opinion on until now.

They work in silence for the rest of the time they're in the same stack. But when she's struggling to place a book on the top shelf again, he rolls his eyes and drags over a footstool for her before getting back to work.

Some people are just so stubborn.

/

A few days later, he's told to stay after class. If this is another lecture about how he can get better grades if he actually put in effort, then he may have to bring back the cursing at teachers in a foreign language – that did such _wonders _in his freshman year.

After the last student leaves, she tells him to shut the door.

Fine, all the better for him to curse in Italian.

"Did you write this paper that you handed in?"

…Totally not what he was expecting?

"Let me double check," he states flatly, "Don't want you mixing up your students' papers."

She frowns at him. "I'm serious, Mr. Himura."

He rolls his eyes. "Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Am I sure that I actually sat down in front of my computer and typed out that waste of an assignment? Yes, I'm sure."

"Because there are ways of confirming that."

There's a beat of silence.

"You don't think I wrote it," he concludes, almost wanting to laugh.

"I find it hard to believe that the same student who came in with half a page of writing for a three page assignment managed to sit down and write a respectable paper that actually goes beyond the minimum page requirement."

For some inexplicable reason, this really pisses him off. He's not _stupid _– everyone who has ever taught him is well aware of this. The fact that this idiot of an educator is questioning that sets his admittedly short patience on edge.

"Fine. Test it. I have nothing to hide."

He storms out of the room before his teacher can call him back in.

/

He's in the children's section of the library still faintly annoyed with his teacher when he looks at the book in his hand, recognizing it as _Corduroy_.

It was one of his favorite books.

He glances around, making sure no one can see him before he opens the book. A wave of nostalgia hits him that almost hurts, but he flips through the pages until he gets to beginning.

He only gets to the third page before he realizes how fucking stupid this is. He slams it shut and stuffs it in between two random books and then rolls the cart away.

/

His history teacher is handing back papers and when she places his paper facedown, he doesn't want to feel anything, but he does.

He's just not sure what it is.

He lifts the corner of it and quickly glances at the grade, rather surprised at the grade and the note under it:

_A –_

Next time you hand in anything that's lower quality than this, I'm automatically giving it an F.

He smirks.

/

He's back in the children's section of the library and goes straight to the authors whose last names begin with "F."

_Corduroy_was taken out.

Well, at least kids these days still have some taste.

/

"_Hey, Kenshin, I heard about your efforts in school."_

Kenshin grimaces on the phone.

"_It's good – it'll show the judge that you're really trying to turn your life around. I don't know if this is a load of bullshit or not, but it better not be."_

He rolls his eyes. "Can I go now? I have better things than to talk to you."

"_You're lucky I put up with you."_

"Oh yes, very fortunate."  
><em><br>"Keep getting your community service hours done and stay out of trouble. I'll see you at the end of the month at the library."_

He hangs up and with a dramatic sigh, he falls back onto his bed. After a few minutes, he realizes he has a lab report he has to complete for Physics.

What the _fuck_? Why does he _care_?

"Ken_shin_! Get down here!" his mother shrieks.

He gets out of his bed and goes to his computer. "Can't, doing work," he yells back.

/

_Corduroy_is back.

He waits until Kaoru leaves before he picks the book out and finishes reading it.

He keeps trying to straighten his face for the next half hour, but it doesn't really work.

/

Kaoru's rushing with her shelving books, so he wordlessly takes her book cart and rolls away with it.

"Kenshin! What're you –?"

"Just get the hell out, Kamiya."

Before he goes to the elevator, he hears her stage-whisper, "Thank you!"

He ignores her and avoids thinking about why he's doing these things for her.

/

"Kenshin is very efficient and doesn't slack off. He may continue to finish his community service here," Sae rattles on, showing Saito the log of hours.

Kenshin doesn't pay attention; he focuses on Kaoru trying to reach for a book on the top shelf, her top inching up to reveal pale skin.

/

Enishi texts Kenshin about a party. Kenshin almost chucks his phone at the wall.

_Fuck_that guy.

He blasts his stereo and tries not to think about how that asshole should be doing these hours.

/

He's holding a worn copy of _Nine Stories_in his hands.

One of the few books he actually read for school is _The Catcher in the Rye_, just so he could really understand why pretentious adults would call him Holden.

After finishing, the first person that called him Holden Caulfield got an earful.

He's not a psycho, whack-job who wears stupid hats, thank you very much.

But he didn't mind reading it, so he opens the book and starts to read and work.

He has to do something else to keep from getting bored.

/

He slips the small paperback into his back pocket when Oibore walks by.

The old man winks at him, which just creeps him out.

When he's gone, Kenshin takes it out and goes back to reading.

/

Since this book wasn't for school, he can easily admit to himself that he enjoyed it.

/

"Hey, Kenshin…" Kaoru calls from the desk, indicating with her finger for him to come to her.

He stops what he's doing and walks over.

"Yeah?"

She glances to her left and right. "Sae, Tae, and Oibore want to offer you a deal," she explains so quietly that he has to lean in close to hear.

"Okay…"

"We will give you two hours without work if you get a library card."

He narrows his eyes in confusion. "What?"

She shrugs. "The only catch is that you have to stay here for the two hours, but…it's better than working, right?"

"I just have to pay for a library card?"

She smiles. "You don't _pay _for a library card, you _sign up_for one. But yeah, that's it. As long as it's a secret."

He smirks. "I feel like this is illegal."

"Well, you'd technically be making up the two hours you lost on the first day," she responds in his ear.

His eyes widen and his breath gets stuck in his throat. She really shouldn't be affecting him like this.

"Okay, fine," he finally says a tad breathlessly.

She beams up at him and adjusts herself in front of the computer. "Alright, I just need some info…"

/

He realizes as he's hanging out in the children's section that maybe trying to hide _Pride and Prejudice_in his back pocket was not the smartest idea; it's not the thinnest book in the world and it very clearly sticks out.

/

At some point, he doesn't bother hiding his reading anymore. And at some point, Kaoru began handing him books without saying a word.

And at some point, he begins to realize that he's actually bookworm and that he actually _likes_this girl.

Who the _hell_is he?

/

"I'm sorry, Mr. Himura? Do you have something to say?"

Kenshin freezes in his chair and gazes at his teacher, who is staring at him with a hard expression; she caught him scoffing at a comment that Akira made about the book they're currently reading.

"Yeah," he says, surprising everyone in the room (including himself).

His teacher raises an eyebrow at him, gesturing him to continue.

He crosses his arms and sighs. "How could you possibly compare Darnay's supposed _love_for Lucie to Carton's? There's no comparison."

His teacher is clearly surprised that Kenshin is willingly and intelligently participating in a literature discussion.

"What are you talking about, Kenshin, did you even _read _this book?"

Kenshin whips his head around to glare at Akira. "There isn't because Darnay doesn't feel one iota of emotion like Carton does. 'For you, and for any dear to you, I would do anything. I would embrace any sacrifice for you and for those dear to you. And when you see your own bright beauty springing up anew at your feet, think now and then that there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you.' Did Darnay say anything remotely passionate like that? I think not. Your traditional and narrow-minded view totally warps your judgment and proves how incapable you are of analyzing anything meaningful."

The class is eerily silent after his outburst.

"Detention, Mr. Himura," his teacher says in a quiet voice.

He turns back around. "Why?" he demands. "Worse things have been said in this class – last week Takani practically ripped Sagara apart and you just idly stood by!"

"Enough, Mr. Himura. Report to detention after school. And next time keep your thoughts in check. Yes, Kaoru?"

Kenshin looks over to his left to find Kaoru primly holding her hand up. When she's called on, she lowers her hand and crosses her legs gracefully. "Yes, I would just like to say that your giving detention to Mr. Himura is completely uncalled for and I agree with everything he said," she states strongly, looking at their teacher directly in the eye.

"Then I guess you can join Mr. Himura in detention?"

"I would be absolutely _delighted_."

"Kaoru –" he starts.

She shoots him a look to get him to shut up.

Normally he'd take pride in ruining something pure, but right now he's beyond pissed and maybe just a little upset.

/

"You really didn't have to do that," Kenshin tells Kaoru in detention.

"Yeah, I did. It was wrong and horrible and…" she takes a breath, "You deserved someone to stand by you. Because you were right. Akira's a moron."

He smiles a little. "My pride or dignity or whatever doesn't deserve your getting detention."

"That's right, it doesn't."

They crane their heads to find Kashiwazaki (nicknamed "Okina" for some mysterious reason), the teacher who usually supervises detentions, standing over them.

"Okina," Kenshin greets. They're very familiar with the amount of time Kenshin has spent in detention, but it's been a while.

"Get out of here – I'll make sure this doesn't show up on any records."

Kaoru's jaw drops. "Won't you get in trouble for that?" she squeaks.

Okina smirks rather maliciously. "Tenure."

Kenshin rolls his eyes. "The downfall of public education. Let's go."

She laughs into her hand when he leads her out of detention.

Huh, who'd of thought he'd actually have people on his side?

/

He kind of wants to take Kaoru out or _something_to thank her for what she did in class (he hasn't figured out how he'd take her out without a car yet), but he gets a call from his probation officer, ordering him to meet him at his house.

He manages to thank her with an awkward smile before riding home.

He kind of needs to work on his social skills.

/

"_What the hell did you think you were doing_?" Saito yells at Kenshin in the latter's too small kitchen.

"I was participating in a class discussion – my teacher is a _bitch_and took it the wrong way. Besides, it's not going to count anyway!"

"Yes it is! Your teacher has been very thorough and notified the appropriate people, so the court _will _see it. And of _course_you had to make it ten times worse by involving an innocent girl –"

"Hey, I didn't _force_her to stand up for me. I didn't want her to get detention," Kenshin retorts sharply.

"Well, it's too fucking late now! Honestly, what the fuck is _wrong_ with you? I don't get kids like you – you know what you're doing is stupid, and yet you continue down this path that gets you _nowhere_."

Kenshin's never heard his probation officer talk like this before; sure, he's harsh, but he's never lost his cool like this. He curls his hands into fists and tries to breathe properly through his nose. "Tell me what you _really _think," he hisses sarcastically.

"You're making my job fucking _difficult_."

"Well at least from all this I know who actually _gives_ a shit about me now!" Kenshin snaps, getting to his feet, ready to hit the man in front of him. "If you really only just care about adding another tally mark under your victory heading then don't fucking _bother _trying to help me."

Saito gazes at him coolly. "Fine. Then I'll have to let the court know that _you_were being so out of control that I refused to work for you –"

"You mean _I _refused _you_ to work for _me_."

"And then the courts would most likely come to the conclusion that you have regressed and you'll be immediately thrown into juvie. While you may act all tough, you'd be eaten _alive_in there."

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that it's no good for either of us if we part ways. I'll continue to supervise and try to contain this _mess_ you made and _maybe_if you keep your head down like you're supposed to, we could salvage this."

After Saito leaves, Kenshin clenches his jaw and tries hard to ignore the stinging in his eyes.

/

"Hey, Kenshin?"

"Hm?"

"What…exactly got you into this?"

Kenshin stops shelving and looks up from _Crime and Punishment_. Kaoru's playing with the hem of her shirt, her eyes shifting from the floor to her car to the shelves to him and then back again.

He exhales through his nose and shuts his book. "It's probably better if you sit."

She drops to the floor and sits cross-legged. He smiles at her fondly before taking a seat on the ground. Crossing his legs is very uncomfortable for him and she giggles at his attempt.

He shoots her a mock glare before scraping his bottom lip with his teeth.

He tells her about Enishi and the drinking and Enishi driving his truck, how it's a blur and he doesn't remember anything except suddenly waking up in the driver's seat with the worst headache ever while Enishi managed to get away.

"I'm not innocent in the whole thing, but…I just thought…"

"That your friend wouldn't leave you out to dry," she finishes for him.

He shrugs. "Yeah, I guess."

She shakes her head. "I don't get it – did they just assume you took his keys or something? I just…I don't get how they could've automatically –"

"Because I'm not a first time offender," he admits, not looking at her. "It wasn't so hard to believe."

When he risks a glance at her, she's staring at him with a strange shine in her eyes. He wants to inch closer to her but he can't move.

/

At nine at night, the doors are shut and locked and they're blasting R.E.M. from Kaoru's iPod.

"I can't believe Tae and Sae actually trust me to help you and Oibore close up," Kenshin states as he locks up drawers.

Kaoru is jumping to put away two books at once. "Yeah, well," jump, "They really," jump, "Grew," jump, "To like you," jump again.

"Talk About the Passion" starts playing in the background.

He rolls his eyes at her. "You know there are _plenty_of footstools in this establishment, yes?" he tells her as he stands up and walks over to her.

"I can _reach_, I've done it before," she says, continue to reach up and jump.

He stands next to her and lifts his arm up and pushes the book into the shelf for her. She drops her arm and glances up at him. "Thanks," she says, smiling a little and curling a piece of hair behind her ear.

When he's this close to her, he can easily breathe in her fading scent of jasmine.  
>His eyes drop to her mouth.<p>

"Kenshin?" she inquires softly, but inhales when his head drops so his forehead is touching hers.

"Um, may I?" he asks, feeling his face heat up a little.

He's pretty sure this is the most he's ever felt in a long time, maybe even ever.

"How polite," she responds before turning bright red. "Crap, that was stupid to say. I meant _yes_, please. Do so."

At first he's rather chaste and sweet, keeping his mouth closed, but she surprises him bring pulling him closer, pressing a little harder.

"_Combien, combien, combien de temps? Talk about the passion…_"

_So this is how it feels kissing someone you actually like_, he vaguely ponders, cradling her head in his hands. Everything feels sharper and he can taste the peppermint in her mouth, which seems so unfamiliar in this context.

When the song ends and another begins, she pulls away and grabs his wrist, dragging him. "Come on! I love this song."

He grimaces – he'd rather go back to making out, really.

With a huge grin that's rather mischievous, she steps onto a chair and then hops onto the table. His eyes widen at her.

"Come on, don't tell me you _never_wanted to jump onto a table in the library."

Her lips are quite swollen and he can't look away from how beautiful she is.

"In the school library more than anything," he admits.

"Well, we can't do that, so this is the next best thing."

He sighs with a shrug before climbing onto the table as soon as the second playing of the violins comes on.

"_Here we go!_" she sings before dancing in a ridiculous manner.

He laughs.

/

He's in his kitchen staring at his report card for the third marking period with shock etched on his features.

As and Bs. Even his English teacher gave him a B even though she never quite forgave him for the first and last time he participated in class.

Of course, come the end of the year, all these grades will go plummeting down with his first and second marking periods (although his second marking period was marginally better), but this is rather telling.

He leaves a message with his probation officer's secretary since Kenshin knows he'll be receiving a copy of his report card:

_Suck. On. That._

/

"Hey Kenshin? What are we doing, exactly?"

He pauses, his hands freezing on the lock to his bike.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we _kissed_. Like, two weeks ago. And I don't know…I really felt something. And I thought…"

He drops the lock and straightens himself out. He stuffs his hands into his pockets. "Do you actually _want _something?" he asks her, tilting his head to the side, "I'm not exactly a _winning pick_for potentially…anything serious."

She takes a few steps closer to him. "I don't care. And neither should you."

He looks away from her and after a few moments, she starts laughing. He glares at her. "What?"

"Is this about my _reputation_or something?"

"I doubt a lot of people in your life would approve," he mutters.

She brings him in for a tight hug. "You're sweet."

"I'm really not. I'm a punk."

She laughs. "You're a big softie who would marry Dickens if he lived in this century."

"Hey, the guy knew how to write, okay? Nothing wrong with admiring him."

"Nothing wrong at all."

/

Everyone notices Kenshin Himura, who never gave a damn about school, is now carrying books in his back pocket.

He's still not paying attention in half his classes, but at least he's doing his homework. More often than naught.

/

"You're done!" Oibore exclaims cheerfully, signing Kenshin's community service log.

"Wait…what?"

Oibore looks up and cocks his head. "You've completed all your hours. You're free."

Kenshin knew he was finishing his community service, but he didn't think today was the last day.

"Oh. Okay. Thanks…" he says, trying to wrap his head around the idea that he won't be coming in to the library every other day; he came to rather enjoy his time here.

"There's just one thing you have to do before we let you go…" Oibore adds, opening a drawer. "Ah, here." He slaps a paper down in front of Kenshin.

Kenshin grins. "Seriously?"

Oibore winks. "We'll put you at the top of the pile. There's just the pesky interview."

Kenshin picks up the paper and exhales a bit shakily. "Thank you," he tells him, embarrassingly overcome with emotion.

"You're a good kid. Good luck."

Kenshin folds up the application and sticks it into his pocket.

As he's walking out the door he hears, "WAIT!"

Everyone in the library stops what he or she is doing to glare at Kaoru, who's on the second level, almost hanging over the ledge.

He smirks in amusement as he waits patiently by the exit.

She's panting by the time she reaches him. "Good luck," she says in between breaths.

He laughs a little, wanting to kiss her a lot, but he says, "I'll talk to you later."

Maybe he'll actually take her out when this is all over – he's really into the idea of being with her, despite his reservations on being right for her.

/

Saito's fixing Kenshin's tie outside the courtroom. Kenshin didn't sleep the night before and his hands have been trembling for the past hour.

"Stop futzing. It's going to be fine," Saito orders.

"Can't help it," Kenshin mutters, sticking his hands into dark slacks.

Saito eyes Kenshin hard before smirking. "That library gig was the best decision I've ever made. You're damn lucky you have me."

Kenshin shakes his head in disbelief.

A woman in a dress suit opens the door to the courtroom and says, "She's ready for you."

Saito slaps Kenshin on the back. "Come on, let's go."

Kenshin inhales and exhales slowly before walking in.

He wants to fight for this, her, everything.


	3. SECOND PLACE

**JOINT SECOND PLACES**

* * *

><p><strong><strong>**Title:** Sweetened  
><strong>Author: <strong>MissGoalie75  
><strong>Theme: <strong>Fruit  
><strong>Rating: <strong>K?  
><strong>Words: <strong>503  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Yahiko and Tsubame share a quiet moment on a hot summer day.  
><strong>AN:**I feel like such a hypocrite writing this couple because I stated on my LJ that I thought they were contrived *headdesk* I actually debated for a few days about posting this or not and just decided what the hell.

Sometimes summers in Tokyo are just so _overbearing_.

Yahiko woke up extra early today to train, knowing that by midday the sun will be too intense to do anything strenuous. Just taking a few steps causes him to break into a sweat.

By the time he reaches the Akabeko, his hair is dripping, his gi is damp, and he all but collapses outside the restaurant. He was supposed to meet Tsubame after her shift, but he wants to try to convince her to end work early.

"Hi, Yahiko-kun. Would you like some watermelon?"

He cranes his head and his hot face flushes even more when he finds Tsubame standing under the doorway, holding a plate of watermelon slices with a small smile on her face.

"Yeah, thanks," he mutters, feeling uncomfortable, even though he shouldn't.

She takes a seat next to him and puts the plate of fruit in between them. For a strong moment he wishes that she wouldn't try so hard to be distant.

He takes a slice and immediately begins eating, spitting out seeds periodically. She's still picking out all the seeds from her slice.

When she finally does take a bite, he watches the way her lips glisten in the sun from the water and the way her eyes flash with joy and happiness.

Her eyes shift and she catches him staring, so he blurts, "Are you on break now?"

"Yes. I wasn't supposed to, but I saw you, so…" she trails off, blushing before taking another bite of watermelon. "It's very hot today," she adds rather unnecessarily.

He nods, grabbing another piece from the plate.

"How are Kaoru-san and everyone else doing?"

"Fine. Same as always."

Her eyes flicker towards the sakabato resting Yahiko's lap. "And your training?"

"Better. It's getting easier to wield," he answers, instinctively flexing the muscles in his arms, which have grown quite a bit since receiving the sakabato.

They eat in silence for a few minutes. He tries hard not to stare at her, but he can't really help himself anymore.

When he reaches over for a third slice, he ends up touching hot skin. He whips his head to look down at his tan hand, which is brushing against her paler one. Flushing, he raises his eyes up to risk a glance at Tsubame, who seems to be in shock, her face the pinkest he's ever seen it.

Feeling inexplicably bold and maybe just a little bit delirious from the heat, he awkwardly tries to hold her hand properly, wanting to lace their fingers together. He's pretty sure his hand must feel awful – slick with sweat and sticky with watermelon, too hot and rough with calluses. But at least hers is just as sticky and hot, despite her attempts at staying clean.

It takes her a few seconds for her to squeeze back in reciprocation.

"This is nice," she admits quietly.

"Yeah, it is."

They watch the people in the bustling streets go by, basking in the sun, heat, and intimate warmth.

* * *

><p><strong><strong>**Title: **Correspondence  
><strong>Author: <strong>MissGoalie75  
><strong>Theme:<strong> Denial  
><strong>Rating: <strong>K+  
><strong>Words: <strong>483  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Takani Megumi certainly does not hold any sort of feeling for Sagara Sanosuke besides that of exasperation. She's definitely sure about that.  
><strong>AN: **I really wanted to write one with Okina in it, but this came out instead *headdesk* Next time!

Takani Megumi certainly does _not_hold any sort of feeling for Sagara Sanosuke besides that of exasperation. She's definitely sure about that. Honestly, who would think that bumbling idiot was suitable for anything other than making a fool of himself?

Oh, and ruining his hand, time and time again, _of course_.

But she supposes she _did _feel a little sad saying goodbye to everyone, including Sano, when she left for Aizu. But it was for the best – it's best to give Ken-san and Kaoru some space and to start a new life for herself.

Although she was a bit surprised when a few months later, she received a letter from Sanosuke from _America_, of all places. It was brief, telling her that he's alive and hopes she's doing well with her clinic. And that he messed up his hand getting into a bar fight, but he managed to find a doctor to fix him right up.

At the bottom of the letter, though, he added that he missed his "favorite fox doc" for a moment, hence the letter.

She tries to ignore the faint blush on her cheeks.

How he's getting from place to place is beyond her level of understanding. He doesn't send her too many letters, but she receives one every other month or so, always from a different city.

She tries to squash her excitement when she sees his familiar scrawl on parchment.

With every new letter, the contents become richer and longer, and her desire to respond becomes greater.

_I'm stuck in "New York" (__ニューヨーク__) for a while, so entertain me: tell me what's happening._

She words her letter carefully, briefly explaining her growing client list and her last visit with Kaoru (she still can't believe that the little raccoon girl is _pregnant_). She refrains from asking when he plans on coming back to Japan.

The next letter doesn't come for almost six months, but there's a package attached with a letter explaining that he had a rough time finding a translator to help him out, but it's finally done.

She can't hold back the smile when she flips through a medical textbook with a translation annex. And somehow, she can't quite deny herself the dizzy sensation that comes with knowing that she's the only one who's received something from him.

Months become years and she's seeing everyone again – Kenshin, Kaoru, Kenji, Yahiko, Tsubame, Misao, Aoshi – and it feels just like coming home. Although she knew _he _wouldn't be coming, she's still a tad disappointed that he didn't make a grand entrance to surprise everyone.

While everyone is in shock that he's in Mongolia, Megumi isn't – she knew he was in China for over a month now. But when she hears Kenshin say that Sano will be back in Japan soon, she finally admits that _maybe_ he's good for something after all.

* * *

><p><em><strong>February 2011 - Denial Prompt<strong>_  
>Title: Forget Me Not<br>Prompt: Denial  
>Wordcount: 1,137<br>Rating: T  
>AN: A continuation from my last entry, "Something New", because poor Kaoru deserved a break. Enjoy!

Kaoru ran to her room and slid the door shut. Her cheeks were wet with tears and red with embarrassment. That couldn't have gone worse. How stupid, stupid, stupid could she be? There was no recovering from this.

The kiss replayed itself in her mind again and again. His lips had been so cold and unmoving. It was true that while he hadn't pulled away, Kenshin hadn't exactly been responsive to her bumbling either leaving Kaoru with the sinking feeling that she had indeed misinterpreted the moment. As usual, for as much as she cared for Kenshin, he seemed only interested in their platonic friendship.

Kaoru buried her fingers into her hair. What was she going to do? How long could she hide out in here? Maybe she should run and go visit Misao in Kyoto for a while. Then they could all just let this blow over and forget about it eventually.

_Yes_, she breathed. That sounded like a plan. She could leave today! Immediately even!

But her frantic thoughts were interrupted by the sound of soft familiar footsteps approaching.

"Kenshin!" Kaoru squeaked. She looked around her sparsely furnished room and darted for the closet. She slid the door closed, careful not to make any noise that might give her away and waited. Hopefully he would go looking for her in the dojo next and she could sneak out of the house.

Kaoru heard another door open as Kenshin stepped into her room. The floorboards creaked beneath his feet as he circled her bedroom. Kaoru chewed on her thumbnail and tried not to breathe. _Go away_. She willed. _ Please, just go away. I can't do this with you now_.

Finally, she heard his footsteps recede and the door to the room shut.

Kaoru breathed a sigh of relief. She wiped the sweat that clung to her palms on the front of her kimono and emerged from the closet, but Kenshin stood inside the room with his back to the exit. Kaoru uttered a pathetic plaintive cry in the back of her throat. She had been outwitted by the rurouni as usual.

"Gomen, Kaoru dono. This one did not want to trick you like this. I will leave if you want me to, but I would like to talk to you," Kenshin said politely. His face was clouded by the shadows of the dimly lit room which meant that with any luck he could not see the humiliation painted on hers.

Kaoru couldn't bear to look at him any longer shadows or no. She bowed with her hands folded in front of her and apologized a second time. "Please forgive me, Kenshin. I should not have dared. Please, let's just forget this, okay," Kaoru asked and did not rise to look at him.

Kenshin began walking towards her and suddenly he was again in her field of vision, kneeling before her on one bent knee. He took one of her hands in his, gently prying it away from the other. Her free hand began to shake until he took hold of that too. "Is that what you really want this one to do, Kaoru dono," Kenshin asked solemnly. He did not smile and his eyes looked fierce like they usually did when he worried.

_YES! _Kaoru wanted to shout, but couldn't say the word for some reason. She nodded slowly in response. All she wanted now was for things to be like they were, she insisted internally. Pining for him was ten times better than this horrible awkwardness.

Kenshin sighed and rested his forehead across her knuckles. "Then I will. This one would do anything for you, Kaoru dono. Please know that I will not fail to do whatever you ask of me. You have given me everything, Kaoru dono. "

Kaoru was stunned silent.

"But," Kenshin continued and lifted his head so he could meet her eyes. Gently, he pulled her hands forward leading her to the floor. Kaoru knelt in front of him with her hands held against his chest. "I ask that you forgive my earlier rudeness." Kenshin said. "I did not mean to cause you embarrassment or to be so cold in the garden. The truth is, you have never made me happier, Kaoru."

She could scarcely believe what she was hearing. He had spoken plainly without formality or honorifics in the manner of his former assassin self, but his eyes remained kind and gentle. Her hands tightened around his rough fingers. "Ken-shin…"

He leaned forward and kissed her lips. It was Kaoru's turn to make a surprised little noise, but Kenshin did not pull away as she had. The kiss was so warm and perfect that she began to feel dizzy. Kenshin released one of her hands so that he could put his arm around her and place his hand on her lower back. He guided them both gently to the ground and pulled her into his lap while he continued to kiss her tenderly.

However, all too soon he pulled away. Kaoru hid her face in the crook of his neck and began to cry into the collar of his stupid pink haori. She was positive that this was all some sort of horrible perfect nightmare that she would soon wake up from.

"Forgive me, Kaoru. I did not mean to cause you pain. This one will forget all of this if that is what you still wish, Kaoru dono." His voice was calm, but his breathing was short and uneven.

"No, stupid." Kaoru said into the folds of fabric sensing that he was slipping away again. "I don't want you to forget this." Gathering her courage she lifted her head and pressed a small kiss into his neck.

Kenshin inhaled quickly and began to laugh. "Hahaha, you are a bold one," he said.

Kaoru blushed and opened her mouth to make up some excuse, but Kenshin stopped her and kissed her forehead. "It's fine, Kaoru. I love that about you," he said and pulled her close. "Now, what would you like me to cook us for lunch."

"Y-you…you're ridiculous." Kaoru stammered. "How can you even think about food right now?"

Kenshin smiled mischievously. "Because Yahiko was already asking about his meal before I found you. He'll probably be along shortly looking for us."

"Oh! No, no! I can't!" Kaoru said hurriedly and struggled to stand up, but Kenshin held her fast. "We are not telling Yahiko yet, Kenshin. It's too much."

"As you wish, Kaoru," Kenshin chuckled. "I will not deny you anything anymore."

Kaoru looked at him steadily and all at once broke into the biggest, happiest smile ever. "Oh Kenshin," she trilled and flung her arms around his neck. If this did turn out to be a dream, it would still be the best one of her life.


	4. THIRD PLACE

**THIRD PLACE**

* * *

><p><strong>Title: It is in the blood<br>Author: JeniNeji****  
><strong>**Prompt: Fruit  
>AN: <strong>Part of "The Blood"

Kaoru was enjoying the fruit of her hard labor. She had worked two weeks straight and she was already feeling like she was a hundred years old. Thankfully Lady Uno had notice her wobbly ways and had given her the day off.

She knew how to enjoy a day off. She had woken up and had slurped down a giant tray of food and then gone to take the longest soak ever in the hot spring at the inn. No one had voiced any complain for what she was grateful. She really—really—needed this time to herself.

Lately she had been working practically over time. She had worked here the whole day for a few years now—six to be more precise—but now Kenshin was starting to take classes with an acquaintance of Lady Uno—she said it would do him good plus he could help at the inn when he was older with finances—and he had homework almost every day. She had to take some time to help him but between that stress and that of her work she was starting to lose it. At least Kenshin was a fast learner. If her father hadn't taken the patience to teach her to read and to write—unlike many others—she would have killed herself by now. Ok…maybe not but still, she knew she wouldn't have been able to live with it.

Kaoru sighed. She knew she had been here for too long and although it was her day off she couldn't really say it was her day off as a mother. She had a child to take care of and to pay attention to. She hadn't been able to play with Kenshin as much since he started his schooling. Today could be a good day for that. Maybe a few games of tag and deck cards…it will kill some time and help her relax as well.

Kaoru walked out of the hot spring and dried herself with one of the white towels. She dried her hair a little and then proceeded to dress with a plain white yukata. She took a small towel and began to dry her long hair absent mindedly as she walked out of the baths and into her room. She opened the shoji door to her room with a smile but it quickly faded when she realized Kenshin was no longer sleeping in his futon. The small red head had fixed his futon and had—so kindly—fixed hers as well. She was truly a lucky mother; Kenshin was the best child one could have.

Knowing she was going to have to look for Kenshin around the inn she dropped off the towel in a corner and fished a kimono from her small closet. She took a lavender kimono with a simple green obi and changed quickly. The hot water had done wonders to her sore muscles and her body suddenly had a high of energy she was dying to spend playing. She took a comb and brushed her hair a few times and left it loose. Her hair was often in a ponytail but today it felt like a total waste of energy. She couldn't have her hair down when she was working because it could fall on the food so today she would do what she never could while she was working.

She walked down the stairs quickly—years of experience—and went to the kitchen knowing Kenshin would be there. He was always hungry and when he was not he was always looking for sweets. It was impressive how he kept his teeth healty.

Finally in the kitchen Kagome snuck her head inside and her blue eyes peered around the room with a smile, but once again she was wrong. She asked the cook but she said Kenshin had left a while ago. She tried to ask more details but the woman shushed out because a group had arrived and she had much to do. Kaoru felt guilty and considered helping out but then decided against it. She deserved this day. Kenshin deserved this day.

Once again she went out to the halls but this time she was hunting for her young ward. Now she was more attentive and her brain was working to get him as fast as possible. She wasn't in a hurry but she was bored and this was promising. She wanted to see if she could outsmart her small unknowing ward and herself.

_If I were Kenshin…where would I be?_

Then it hit her. The new group. If there was a sin Kenshin was prone to fall for was his curiosity. With her new goal her shapely legs moved forward faster and she reached the big room almost instantly. She met Lady Uno there and she told her Kenshin had left a few minutes ago with Isuka to play.

Kaoru rolled her eyes, those two were almost inseparable, She should have guessed the group was Katsura's group. That was the usual now since the Shinsengumi had been pushed away to another part of Kyoto. Sometimes she missed them. They were bloody and cold but they were familiar.

Kaoru—who was now wandering aimlessly—turned a corner when she heard a battle cry nearby. She flinched a second before relaxing again. The Imperialist were here, if there was any danger they would have come down by now. She followed the sounds until she froze cold in her tracks.

Kenshin was sparing with Isuka with his bokken. She watched in horror and pride as Kenshin perfomed flawlessly against Isuka using the little of the Kamiya Kasshin style she had taught him. There was no doubt—she never had it—that Kenshin was an agile child and had the ability to be a great swordsman one day, but she had wanted to keep that knowledge a secret. She feared for him, much more here in Kyoto where violence and assassinations were the daily bread.

So, she half-noticed when her socked feet flew forward and her strong legs made a long jump and she fell between the sparring children. She stretched her arms and glared down at Kenshin. The children didn't move an inch, her presence becoming a huge distraction to them. In a fit of rage, pain and fear Kaoru snatched the bokken away from Kenshin and held it tightly. Her glare was so cold that Kenshin couldn't help but turn away from her clearly uncomfortable and guilty. Kaoru felt Isuka leave them to themselves and she stood her ground for a few moments as she tried to collect her temper. Or was it...fear?

After a long while she took her red-headed child in her arms and hugged him with immeasurable strength as if worried that he may disappear at any moment now, "Please, don't do this again," Kaoru pleaded with a soft and broken voice.

Kenshin immediately nodded his head and hid his face on her stomach. He didn't want those tears on his violet eyes to spring to life, but . He felt like he had betrayed her somehow, the worry in her eyes was twisting his heart painfully.

After a few moments-where Kaoru only nodded her head continuously- they separated and Kaoru turned back to the inn only to find Katsura—with an unreadable look—staring right back at them. She stared back-well...sort of glared-but the samurai didn't seem affected by it and merely turned away and walked back inside.

She felt like this was the beginning of something very bad to would have to start praying tonight.


	5. FOURTH PLACE

**FOURTH PLACE**

* * *

><p>Title: Something New<br>Prompt: Fruit  
>Wordcount: 793<br>Rating: T  
>AN: Hi all, I'm new to the community. I hope I'm doing this right. Looking forward to getting to know all of you. Enjoy!

Kaoru sat facing the garden with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders while she repaired a rip in one of her favorite kimono. Domestic affairs were not her forte and she pricked herself almost every other stitch. "Drat!" She grumbled and regretted her decision to send Kenshin to the market for supplies. He was better at this sort of thing and she probably could have gotten him to do the sewing for her. He was better at all sorts of things particularly the kind of things that she _should_be good at as a woman and assistant master of a dojo.

She heard shuffling from inside and then Kenshin's voice calling out to the household. "Tadaima"

"Okaeri, Kenshin." Kaoru called back. "I'm outside in the garden."

The door slid open and Kenshin emerged holding a strange looking fruit in his hand. "Ohaiyo, Kaoru dono. What are you working on?" He said with an arrogant smirk as he looked at her bleeding and swollen fingers.

"Nothing," Kaoru spat and pitched her sewing project to the side. "So what did you pick up at the market?"

"Mostly the usual" he said as he took a seat beside her, "but there were some new interesting things from the West. Here," he offered her a bulbous red fruit, "they call it a pomegranate. You can only get them when it's cold like this"

Kaoru held the fruit in her hands. It looked a strange hybrid of a potato and an apple, but she shrugged and took a large bite of it. Instantly, she spat out the offending fruit. "Bleeeh. That's awful! I think you were taken advantage of Kenshin. That's disgusting."

"Here, let me try it." He asked patiently. Kaoru gladly handed it over still unable to get the grainy taste of it out of her mouth.

Kenshin was looking into the fruit at the bright red interior that Kaoru had exposed. His brows knitted in thought and she watched as he slid his two thumbs into the fruit and cracked it open. The center of the fruit held these tiny red seeds that had been protected by the tough grainy outer shell that Kaoru had gotten a mouthful of. "I wonder if we're supposed to eat the seeds," Kenshin wondered aloud.

"You try it first." Kaoru stated resolutely.

Kenshin awkwardly maneuvered both halves of the fruit into one hand and picked up a seed with his free hand. She watched him put it into his mouth and tilt his head while he considered it. "It's good." He said at last. "A little tart, but good. Won't you try it again?" He asked offering Kaoru the fruit once more.

Kaoru sighed, but did as he asked. If this was some elaborate prank, she was going to kill him. She took one half of the pomegranate and tried a single seed for herself. Her eyes widened in surprise as the fresh, bright flavor exploded in her mouth. "Oh my…that is good," she said and started munching on pomegranate seed left and right. They were full of flavor and juice, and Kaoru was making quite a mess of her meal.

Kenshin started chuckling. "Kaoru dono, you've gotten a bit on your face."

Kaoru blushed and tried to cover her mouth with her hand, but even that was sticky too.

"Here, let me help you," Kenshin offered. He gently cupped her cheek in his hand and brushed the juice from her lips and the corners of her mouth.

Kaoru was wide-eyed and frozen in place by the intimacy of the moment. Kenshin's eyes and kind smile were merely friendly, but something new must have past between them because he did not immediately pull away. Kaoru closed her eyes and tilted her cheek into the palm of his hand. "Arigato, Kenshin," she whispered; however, her words had broken the spell and Kenshin withdrew his touch.

When Kaoru opened her eyes, Kenshin had both of his hands in his lap and was staring out into the garden. He was no longer smiling and swallowed nervously.

No, no, no! Kaoru panicked. There had been something there and now they had missed their moment!

She stood up quickly dropping her half of the pomegranate on the ground and moved to stand in front of Kenshin. "Kenshin!" She squeaked with her head bowed in embarrassment. "You made a mess too!" Kaoru darted forward thinking to leave a small peck of a kiss on his lips, and accidentally bumped his teeth with her own. There was a loud clink. Kaoru was mortified.

Kenshin made a surprised noise that sounded like "Hrrrmmf" and Kaoru shrank back in horror.

"Gomen," she stuttered in tears and fled into the house unable to face him. What had she just done!


	6. EXTRAS

**EXTRAS**

* * *

><p><strong>Title: I am behind you<br>Author: JeniNeji**  
>Prompt: Denial<br>Rating: T  
>AN: Addition to **_The Blood_**  
>Summary: Without you, I'm lost "<em>Onee-san<em>"

Young Kenshin had escaped the inn for the fifth time that day. The maid and servants were awed at his ability to snuck out each and every single time. They had been watching carefully but he had escaped none the less. But what could they do? They couldn't simply allow him to stay in his room the whole day! He had to go to the bathroom…just how he escaped from there while a servant watched the door like a hawk was a complete mystery.

That had been an hour ago and by now one of the guards had found Kenshin and brought him back. This time he was made to wait for Kaoru to return at Lady Uno's side. Everyone knew the child was desperate but he respected Lady Uno very much.

"Why is she not here yet?" asked Kenshin, his eyes looking out of the window in a silent yet determined vigil.

Lady Uno continued to work painting a vase silently. Her eyes were watering because of the exertion she had been put the last few hours. Kaoru had gone to the markets early in the morning to buy some groceries but she didn't return right away. It was night already and unlike the cold and calm exterior she was showing everyone, inside she was shaking just as everyone else. After having Kaoru under her wing for eight years she couldn't deny the young woman had become like her daughter and Kenshin her only grandson.

At first she hadn't worried. Kaoru was a strong girl and had been trained under a martial art. It wouldn't be easy to take her down. She was simply late or had run into some kind of trouble. That was merely it. She sent one if her girls to the police station hoping Kaoru was there. Maybe she had been robbed or had seen something, but when the police told her girl that they hadn't seen Kaoru her nerves started to betray her. She contacted Kogoro Katsura and had some of his men searching for Kaoru.

Many hours had come to pass now and they had only found Kenshin several times today but no Kaoru yet. She had been tempted to contact Hajime Saitou since she knew he was fond of the blue-eyed maid, but didn't. She didn't want problems and as of now Saitou's men were not able to visit the city without danger. She couldn't ask that of him.

"Onee-san would have gone to search for me if I were lost," Kenshin whispered. His voice was full of sadness and Uno saw him bury his face on his arms. She knew he was crying and it broke her heart. If only she could do more…

Hours passed and soon enough Kenshin fell into exhaustion. Uno sent a maid to bring his futon to her room and after arranging it she moved the small red-head over it and brushed his fangs from his face. She dried the remaining tears from his face and placed a small kiss at the top of his forehead.

"Onee-san," whispered Kenshin and another tear fell down.

Uno turned her face towards the windows and up the moon. It was almost new moon and she hoped Kaoru was found before the darkest night of the month arrived. That night was unforgiving to lost and wandering souls.

_He needs you._


End file.
